The New Vault Hunters
by Alice Tannis- The Sixth Siren
Summary: Alice is back! The rocket is finished and the Vault Hunters are off to Dionysus to find the next Vault and Key. Alice might get a bit more than she bargained for, because as we know, love isn't her thing... (Alice is not a real character, and I don't own Borderlands.) (New ship intro: Alice T./Zer0.)
1. Chapter 1

A New Group of Vault Hunters-

The Sequel to: Sirens Don't Need a Fire to Burn

1… Study and Conversation

I sat at the table next to my sister, Patricia Tannis, tinkering with the Vault Key. I turned it and began to examine the other side of the alien object. My name is Alice Tannis, and I am a Siren.

I have a power called Phasecharge, and I can kill someone with just a touch. I found out about my abilities long ago, but found out what I was and what the powers ment only a few months back.

We are scientists, and we study not only the Vault Key, but its reaction to different Sirens. Patricia told me that Maya couldn't react with the Key because she had no previous experiences with Eridium. I hadn't known I'd had contact, but the gemstones and animal tissues that Patty sent me had, therefore the remnants from them exposed me to it.

Lilith, Scarlett, and I could all charge a Vault Key, but it was a highly difficult process, and a bit painful. It also left the Siren weak, but full of energy, allowing them to create powerful novas or explosions. It could take years to charge a single key, unless you raised the exposure to a very high amount, but doing it too quickly would ultimately kill the Siren, so the stream had to stay low constantly or raise at a steady and slow pace.

Patty took a chisel to the object, and it glew. She chipped a few pieces off, and placed them on the table. I watched this process very carefully. "Uh, should you be doing that? I mean, this is an artifact, and I know what you're going to say. 'Well, do you want to test on it or not?' and I do, but is ripping it apart a smart idea?" She thought.

"I believe we'll be alright. It will be easier to experiment with in smaller fragments. Plus you can test its reaction to your tattoos more accurately when you can hold it in your hand." I nodded.

Suddenly, Krieg came busting through the door. "Done! Its DONE! Done, done, done! Lets GO!"

He waved his hands at us and ran back down the stairs. "It's so nice of Maya to help him. He'd be insane otherwise. He actually knows what he's talking about. He came to tell us that the rocket is done, and he relayed it in an understandable way. It wasn't just rambling and screaming. It meant something."

Patricia nodded and grabbed the Key. She carried the cone shaped stone down the stairs and out to the center of town. I followed, knowing that this was going to be an interesting adventure. And I was completely ready to go.

Everyone loaded onto the rocket, and Patty warned me about some of the things that would happen. "Remember the pull that you're used to? Gone. It'll be gone. Just don't start feeling sick, alright? We don't need any of that."

I sat down and braced myself. The engine rumbled as Axton took the captain's chair. "Hope everyones got their hats on tight 'cause it's gonna get weird." He began his countdown. I tensed, and the rocket jerked. It left the platform, and soon we were flying off Pandora, and heading for Lilith's home Planet.


	2. Chapter 2

2...An Awkward (And Awesome) Moment

As we flew everyone remained awkwardly silent. I wanted to break it, but I suddenly didn't feel like talking. I just sat. It took a while, but someone finally broke the silence. It was from outside the rocket. I leaned toward the window, and peered out. A woman floated outside, and her face was guarded by a wall of energy.

"Oh my god! Someones out there!" Patricia pushed past me and stared out the window.

"Hey, Moxxi. I have an awkward feeling that you might know her." She and I moved out of the way while Moxxi peered out the window. The girl waved at her from outside the window, and Mox waved back.

"Oh! It's that black market seller from back on Elpis! Oh, what was 'er name? Jessie? Nah. Uh… Janey! Janey Springs! That was it!"Janey gave a bit of a surprised look. Moxxi realized that she hadn't used her accented Hodunk voice in front of her yet. She coughed.

"Axton, do you mind opening the airlock for her?" She had replaced her fake voice. I sighed. Axton pulled a lever, and a door in the back of the rocket opened. Janey floated in, and Axton resealed the door. The airlock came back on, and Moxxi greeted her at the door. "Janey! How are you?"

"I'm great! How about you?" Her accent was Australian, And she had the biggest scar that I had ever seen on her stomach.

"Well, you know. Still me I guess. Running the bar, sexy talking people, hanging around in space. Same old, same old."

"Well, why don't you introduce me?"

"Oh, right. Everyone, this is Janey. She lives on Elpis, and as Lilith would, or at least should know, I used to work there a while back. After they opened the first Vault, I think."

"She was the best bartender in Concordia, if you ask me, or anyone else that's ever meet her.

Moxxi laughed. "I was the only bartender in Concordia."

Janey put her elbow on Moxxi's shoulder, and leaned against her. "Exactly. You were the best because all competition fell flat on there faces. Plus you were probably the only one willing to take all the attention, Miss Sexy."

Moxxi chuckled to herself. "And here we go again with the nicknames."

Janey laughed, and Lilith cocked an eyebrow at them "Wait, whoa. Miss Sexy? Isn't that a bit low, even for you, Mox?"

"Hey, sugar, I didn't make it up. I just went along for the ride." Moxxi lowered her head and raised her hands defensively. Janey spoke. "And I think she doesn't mind one bit." Moxxi's face reddened a shade Janey noticed her clothes for the first time.

"Hey, what are you wearing?"

Moxxi looked down at her outfit. She had started wearing her mechanic outfits more. "Oh, uh…"

I cut her off. "This is what real Moxxi looks like. She likes cars and robots and stuff." Moxxi blush deepened.

"Oh, ok. That's… kinda cool, actually."

Moxxi's embarrassment became shock, which became relief. "Well, thanks. Uh, I dunno if you've noticed, but the voice it fake too."

Janey smiled. "Oh, I totally noticed. It seemed so natural, but it's slipped a few times back in Concordia." Moxxi's shock returned, and she looked like her face was so hot it would catch fire.

"I, uh, I… i'm gonna go sit down." I winked at Moxxi and took over the conversation, allowing her to slip away.

"So, what do you do? Mox said something about Black Market?"

"Yeah. It pays."

"Intresting."

"Wait, who are you?" She cocked her head at me.

"Oh, well, i'm Alice Tannis. Uh, one of Moxxi's newer friends, I guess."

"Tannis. Familiar name. Heard Mox mention it a few times actually. Uh, scientist?"

Well, she was referring to my sister, most likely. Patricia. But, yes I am a scientist, and so is Patty."

She looked between my sister and I and nodded. "I see the family traits. The hair, the face, the...um… shape." Patty's eyes flicked to Janey, and then were locked on the Australian, and I couldn't help but be a bit disturbed too.

"Anyhoo, do you need anything? I am always willing to help Mox out." Moxxi's face brightened more. It was kinda fun, seeing her face without the white paint. I could tell when someone had started a conversation involving embarrassing details about her. Patty's eyes were still glued on the girl.

"Um…" I turned to the others. Most of them nodded, except for my sister and the red faced mechanic. I turned back, and braced for an answer.

"Do you want to come hunt a new Vault and Key with us?"

She grabbed me by the neck and pulled me into a hug. I felt my stomach twist, and I held my breath. She didn't let go, and my breathing began to come back, then speed up, and soon I was gasping so fast that I could have been classified as 'Not Breathing'. She let go and looked at my face, which was probably bright red or dark purple. I couldn't tell whether my social anxiety or lack of breath had changed the color of my face, but it definitely changed.

"You ok? Your face is a bit purple." Lack of breath. Mordy chimed in from behind me.

"She has a bit of a problem with socializing."

"Oh."

I took a minute to regain my color, then shook my head. "It's alright. You couldn't have known. It's a weird problem, sorry."

"It's not your fault. Your can't help it. If that's the way you are, then i'll learn to live with it." Janey smiled at me and held onto the top of the rocket while Axton started it back up, and we jerked again. I sat back down, and Patricia, with alot of effort, unglued her eyes from Springs. She looked at me, then at herself, and nodded.

"Even though that's the most awkward thing anyone has ever said about us, she isn't wrong." The rocket took off again, and soon we were gliding through space once more.

We flew for a few minutes in silence, but this time someone inside broke it.

"Uh, hey, Janey. Mind not calling me that name?"

"Miss Sexy?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Sure. I'll just use your other nickname, M-"

"No, no. That one's worse. Just call me by my name, please."

"Fine, i'll do my best."

"Thank you."

I couldn't help but be curious, but I didn't ask what the name was. Besides, I had a few ideas based on the way Springs had commented on people earlier. I shivered. I stopped thinking about it.

We sat in silence again for about an hour, and then the engine went dead. "Crap, we're empty. And if anyone makes a joke about those words I will personally punch them in the face."

I chimed in, but I couldn't understand why. could've been the fact that I hadn't talked for about and hour and ten minutes, which was totally new to me. Some of the Vault Hunters jumped at my voice. "Unless. of course, I reach their face first."

Everyone looked at me, and I barely saw it because I was still staring at the window. I turned and my mark did something it hadn't done in a long time. It pulsed. The shockwaves spread through my body like water through paper. I cringed, and it pulsed again. I moaned and leaned my head against the back of the chair. Patricia took my arm and looked it over. Her eyes went wide.

"Alice, we're home." She scrambled past me and looked out into the darkness. "We're home!"

She grabbed a mask from the back of the rocket, and opened the airlock. I rushed after her, not because I wanted to see home, but because I feared for her safety. The planet had changed a lot since she left, but I didn't have a chance to tell her. She closed the lock behind us and opened the hatch.

She was about to push off, when she stopped and asked, "Is the landing site I put up still in the same spot?" I nodded.

"It might be a good idea to calculate how you're going to do this. But, I do-" I was cut off by the sound of her feet scraping against the side of the rocket, and her laughs from the void. I scrambled with my hands, calculating where we needed to go, before I followed. I watched Patty. She was on course. Wow. Either she was lucky, or she had done the calculations faster than I thought possible. Most likely the first one.

We entered orbit, and since the planet has almost no atmosphere, the landing was pretty much fireless. We landed on the pad, and Patricia looked around. She began to cry, but only a few tears, not bawling.

"This is… terrible. Alice, what happened?"

"Well, once you left I did my best to take your place as the only sane person here, but that didn't go too well. The Xirats took over and I lost control."

Xirats are much like scags mixed with lions. They're brown or yellow and have mouths that open multiple directions. They also had a blood curdling roar.

Patricia looked up at me. "You lived like this for years, just because I left? I am so sorry!" She grabbed me into a hug, and I pet her hair.

"No. I stayed because I wanted to wait for you. I also wanted to be alone with my work. Don't worry though. I got visitors who came every once in a while to admire my 'light show'." She laughed.

 _Meanwhile…_

"What are we going to do now? The Tannis Team just jumped out of the rocket, and were stuck in place." Lilith was pacing, weighing her options, while Gaige went on and on about their 'impending doom'.

"Look, I know you're scared, amiga, but we'll get through this." Sal tried to comfort her, but Axton was doing a much better job. He had her locked in his arms, and she pressed her face into his chest. Lilith finally came to a conclusion about their options.

Alright, so, we either stay here and wait for them and hope their not dead, or we head down ourselves onto a Planet none of us had ever been to and probably die. I vote wait." Everyone else expressed their agreement. Zer0 tapped a few buttons on his Echo and pulled up a map of the planet. A red dot glowed on it.

"That is Alice right there/She is definitely with/Her sister Tannis."

"Wait," Mordy waved his hands at Zer0, "You track Alice? That is Super creepy, amigo." Zer0 shrugged and a 3 sign appeared on his face. Everyone gave a long, 'Ohhhhhh!' in response.

"She won't like that." Maya said.

Salvador rolled his eyes. "She isn't exactly the dating type, amigo."

"Sorry, bud. I don't think you picked the right girl." Axton shook his head.

"Uh, remember the whole half an hour recuperation section she had at Tina's place? Yeah, maybe she isn't a good choice.

"SCIENCE LADY NO LIKE MALE MEAT!"

"Anyone make a joke about that?"

"SHUT UP, MOXXI!" Everyone looked at her and screamed.

Moxxi put her hands up defensively.

"Sorry Zer0." Lilith looked at him, and he sighed.

"I think she likes me/ she always looks at me funny/but not normal funny. I think she loves me/she always stares at me like/she wants to see me. Real me." Everyone stared at him.

"Did you just speak out of Haiku, Slab?" Brick was tilting his head a bit.

"Indeed I did friend/ I speak without poetry/when I feel I can."

"So... you're not a robot?"

"No."

"What are you?"

"You don't need to know."

Everyone sighed.

"Alice will know soon enough, if she decides to date me." Zer0 looked at the map. "You can't kiss through the visor." A knock on the door came. The red dot had disappeared from the map, and the lights flickered back on. Axton opened the airlock, and Alice and Patty walked back through. "Fixed." Alice sat down, and the other retook their seats, some of them watching Zer0, and the others staring at her.

 _Later…_

I didn't know why, but everyone was staring at me. I looked towards the window, and Gaige turned around in her seat.

"Hey, Alice. What do you think Zer0 is?"

I looked at her and whispered.

"Either he isn't a he, or he's just a normal guy, or he's an Eridian alien. I don't really know, but those are my theories. He isn't a robot, though. He doesn't have a power source or circuits, or anything. When he gets cut, you see blood and flesh, not wires and sparks. Finding out what he is is second on my list of things to know about him." I returned to looking out the window.

"Whats the first?"

I blushed "Uh… I'd rather not say."

"Com'on! What's number one?"

She searched me for an answer for a minute or two, but I finally gave in. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone. How his lips taste. There I said it. " She laughed. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared back out the window.

"Hey, guys! Alic-" I jumped up and clasped my hand over Gaige's mouth.

"Nothing, carry on!" I countered.

"One more word and you're dead, and you won't respawn in space." I whispered in her ear. I took my hand away, and she sat back down. I placed my arms on my lap and was ready to spring up and grab her mouth again.

The rest of the day was fairly quiet. I dared not fall asleep for risk of Gaige spilling my secret. Once I felt everyone was safely asleep I drifted off.

"Alice? Alice! Wake up!" I could barely hear, and I was foggy. I sat up, and found Zer0 in my face. "Alice, you up? His voice had cleared, and he had the sides of my head. "What? Zer0 what are y-"

I was cut off while his visor lifted and he placed a kiss on my lips. I took me a second to realize what had happened, and I pushed him away. His face was tanned, and his eyes were dark brown. His hair was black, and he was definitely a good kisser. I pulled him in again, only this time I lead. I took in the moment, and we finally pulled away from each other.

"Gaige told all of you, didn't she?" He nodded. "And everyone is watching us, aren't they?" He nodded again. I sighed. "Ok everyone! Yes, I like Zer0! Is that a problem? I'm new to feelings like this!" Everyone sat up, and I sighed again.

Everyone's faces were in devious smiles or terrible smirks. Zer0 turned my head back towards his and planted another one on my mouth, and I relaxed. Everyone started laughing, but I didn't care. This was my first real kiss, and it was amazing. He grabbed my shoulders, pushed away, and my face grew a burning red.

He returned to his seat, and I hugged myself. Then the anxiety kicked in. It was over, and my mind had finally registered the kiss. My breathing stopped, and I sat in silence. Lilith came to my rescue with a few calming motions and words. "Alice, calm down, calm down."

This went on for about five minutes. My breath returned and my face paled out again. I took a deep breath and held it. I let it go and I felt much better. I was still a bit shaken, though.

Most of the rest of the day was people commenting on the display, but I didn't care. I answered as many as I dared, and when I felt my anxiety levels go up I stopped answering and calmed myself.


	3. Chapter 3

3… Angels Don't Fly

We ended the day with an Echo from a planet we were about to pass.

"Hel...ello? Am I comi...ugh?"

"Angel? Your alive?"

"New-U, remember?"

"How'd you get there? Oh, wait. Axton! Shut the Rocket down! It's Angel!" The rocket stopped quickly. I almost fell onto the floor.

 _Alice: That's an exaggeration._

 _Author: Uh, is it really? You almost meet the floor with your face._

 _Alice: Point taken. Continue._

 _Moxxi: Wait, while we're talking, Why are you making Janey call me all these weird names? And why do I blush so much?_

 _Author: Shut up Moxxi! It's my story, and i'll do whatever I want to you! Oh wait, uh… no! Thats not what I meant!_

 _Moxxi: Right…_

"Angel, Phaseshift something to help me find you." A beacon shot out into space, and Lilith spotted it. "Got it. Tell me when you're ready."

"Ready!"

Lilith lit her marks and phased Angel on board.

"You killed my father, right?"

"Yes."

"Thanks! He was such a jerk."

"Ya think?"

"Yeah."

Angel's eyes found me, and she gave a look. "Hello. I'm Angel, Handsome Jack's daughter. I'm also know as Control Core Angel or The Guardian Angel. I was an A.I. but after the Vault Hunters killed me, I digistructed here, thank God."

I scanned her over and noticed that she was a Siren. Half of her head was shaved, and it had metal plates on it. Her hair was raven black, and her eyes were blue. She was pale, and her clothes were definitely Hyperion.

"I helped the Vault Hunters before now, so I suppose I could hook back up the to A.I. systems. It could take a bit." She walked over to the control panel of the rocket and moved Axton out of the way. She placed her hands over the echo loads. Her tattoos glowed silver and the lights around her flashed and turned off. Her face appeared on the monitor.

"Activating Phaseshift."

" Wait, what?"

"Sorry, just hacking into the old A.I. I used to control. Looks like Hyperion never took down the connections. I just have to find a way past the security alarms, and track down my old connections."

"Ok… how do you connect to Hyperion? How were you an A.I. if you seem to be a real person?"

"My father kept me locked up for a long time, and he hooked me up to the system so I could help him kill the Vault Hunters. I charged the Key for him, and when I died he took Lilith. She remembers it. Don't you?"

"Yeah. It hurt, a lot. Never, ever let anyone do that to you, Alice. Never."

"Noted."

Angel hooked up to the system. "Aurg! Ok, ow."

"You alright?" Lilith put a hand on Angel's shoulder. She nodded.

"Yeah. I'm connected. Just gotta lock up the security. Here we go. Lemme just..." She closed her eyes. "Searching files…"

"Why does she do that? Did she do this as an A.I. and now it's just normal?" I watched her. Lilith nodded.

"She narrated as an A.I., so its just normal for her to talk like a program."

"Files accessed. Shutting down security." She opened her eyes. Activating download." She cringed. A few seconds went by. "Download complete. Activating Phaseshift." Bands appeared around Angels arms. "Access granted, takeover complete." She let go of the control panel, and shocks flowed between her hands and the panels wires.

"Ok, I can help now. Hyperion's control over my systems is gone. I'm

back in control of the Echo- net. Wait, whoa. I found a few things I never wanna see again. Oh, god! Moxxi, why would you download those?" Moxxi blushed.

"Didn't think about the long run, really…" Angel laughed.

"Here. I'll get rid of those…" She moved her hands over a screen in front of her. "There, gone. Don't worry. It's for good." Moxxi blushed again.

"Heh, sorry."

"It's alright."

"Hey, guys," I chimed in, "what if we make Angel a Vault Hunter? If she wants to, any way." Angel nodded. Everyone agreed.

 _Later..._

"Angel, what exactly does Phaseshift do?" I sat next to her and we looked each other over.

"Hey, I don't even know what your Phase is called."

"Phasecharge." I picked up up a gear and charged it. Angel nodded.

"Cool. Phaseshift. Hmm. Well, um..." She looked around and she began her explanation, changing the environment as she spoke.


	4. Chapter 4

_**(At the moment I couldn't think of what to do for the next chapter, so I decided to do this just for fun...)**_

4… Meet Jeff the killer…

 _Lilith: Wait, who?_

 _Author: You know, crazy killer Creepypasta?_

 _Lilith: What's a… Creepypasta?_

 _Author: Point taken. Here, I'll try again._

 _Angel: Wait, if i'm alive, doesn't that mean my father is too?_

 _Lilith: You're alive!_

 _Angel: Lil, I died in the game, not real life._

 _Lilith: Oh, right._

 _Author: Angel, you're alive for a reason, and I am here to help._

 _Angel: Great quote. *rolls eyes*_

 _Author: Thanks._

 _Angel: *sigh*_

 _ **(And then it came to me…)**_

4… Ouch!

Angel and I played with our powers in the back of the rocket for a bit, and I may have zapped myself once or twice. Angel showed me how she could hack into the Hyperion systems, and I showed her how I could make objects blend in with my body.

"So it came in handy most when I was attacked back home. I was going back to my sisters lab, and this is after she left to research for Dahl, to do a few tests on the new animals that were appearing. I had a knife in my back pocket, as always," I pulled the knife from my pocket to show her, then put it back, " for protection. After Patty left things got a bit weird. New species were coming up, and I was really the only person who wasn't insane or dead. After years of testing on myself and these weird creatures, that changed. I had no one to talk to, so I may have made up a few friends." I took out my knife again and played with it. I cut myself a few times, and made pictures on the floor.

"Should you really be doing that?" Angel watched me slice all my fingers and the red images on the metal floor.

"I do this all the time."

"Oh. It's not good, you know. You could catch something."

"I've had deadly diseases before, and i'm still right here next to you. It happens when you spent years of your life testing on yourself and wild animals at the same time. I think it's a wonder of science i'm still alive, but I am."

"Fine, continue."

"Harry was a picture frame, and Jenny was one of the rocks Patty sent me. Harry was always watching me, and one or twice I may have turned him around for fear of him seeing things, like me forcefully ripping limbs from a Xirat, but Jenny enjoyed the displays of gore. She had issues."

After a few more hours, we decided to sleep. I was hoping with all my heart I wouldn't wake up the same way as I did last night. And I didn't, but I did end up waking in the middle of the night with Zer0 next to me. I was stupid and had slept in the back of the rocket on the floor, because after a while Angel and I drifted off while still talking.

His face was next to mine, and his hand was on my hip. I bolted upright, and pushed his hand off. My anxiety levels went through the roof, and I stood, moved to a corner, huddled in it, and slept that way for the rest of the night. Next thing I know he's going to be pulling me into the bedroom with him.

I woke to find I was the last, and my levels were still a bit agitated. My face was still red, and the spot where Zer0's hand had been still burned. It felt weird. No one seemed to notice, but I felt like slapping him across the face.

So that's what I did. I stood up, walked over, and ripped his helmet off. I activated my markings and smacked him, and sparks flew from his face. Then the helmet dropped from my hand and I returned to my seat.

Everyone was looking at me. No one had expected that, and I was sure they expected a kiss. They didn't know what had happened last night.

 _Zer0: I did what?_

 _Alice: I actually like this part…_

 _Zer0: Really? Why?_

 _Alice: Because I get to slap you because you touched me, that's why!_

 _Author: This will get interesting... I might have to take a break from writing for this. *leaves computer*_

 _Ten minutes later…_

 _Author: Looks like Alice won… * face slap noise in background * Hahaha! Yep!_

 _What I think all of you do: * Facepalm *_

 _Later..._

I stared at the window, not through it, and watched my tattoo's light glint off the glass. My anxiety was gone, but frustration had replaced it. I could've swore my gold tone was reddening, but I couldn't tell through the window. No one had said a word since I hit Zer0, and they were smart to. I wasn't in the mood for talk, and my mark would home in on their face just as fast. No one looked at me, spoke, or barely moved at all. They were giving me time to cool, which was nice, but I felt I may have needed a few of Lily's calming mechanisms. I wasn't going to get any. Then I heard a voice,

"I'm sorry I was so offensive to you, but I really like you."

"Zer0 this isn't the best time to… wait, you didn't say a haiku?"

"Technically, no, but it still had 17 syllables."

"Because that makes it all better!"

"Alice, i'm sorry…"

"No! Sorry isn't…" I sighed "No, i'm sorry. I shouldn't have… i'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't do anything. I deserved this." He gestured to his face, which still had a red mark on it.

"Wait, what did he do?" Janey had come into the conversation.

"I was next to her last night, and may have put my hands on her."

"Ok, now you getting slapped makes sense."

My face turned deep red, and I hid it with my shoulder. Everyone looked at me, and my face deepened, until it couldn't go any redder. I felt like I had just taken 30 bullets to the chest, and a few to the face. My art tinged pink and I was sure someone would notice. I wanted to go back to the corner, but I knew it wouldn't help, so I stayed put.

"Hey, Alice. Have you ever _had_ a boyfriend before?"

"No."

"Wow. Go figure. So, you've never kissed someone?"

"No."

"Slept with someone?"

"Why would you even suggest that?"

"Because based on what i've seen and heard, you've done both of those things with Zer0!" Gaige high fived Axton and Salvador, and everyone else around me, except my sister, yelled "Burrrrrn!" and made movements as if to say 'You just took a bullet to the face'. I stood up and walked out into the only other room on the rocket, the airlock.

I grabbed a mask, strapped it on, and pulled opened the door. I locked it behind me and sat down, on the brink of tears for no particular reason. I rested my head on my knees and fell asleep.

"Hey, kiddo, are you there? Wake up!" I looked up and saw no one, but my echo was on, so I looked at it.

"Hey, your not dead! Good for you. Now, get up and walk yourself back into that ship, so I can talk to your friends."

"Who are you?"

"Handsome Jack, sweetheart."

"Fine. Just don't call me that."

I opened the door and told Jack I was inside.

"Hello bandits! Thats right. I'm not dead. and your friend here just… Angel? Angel, baby! It's you!"

"It is, yo-"

"Ah, language."

"How did you… The connections!"

"That's right, pumpkin. But it's not you I want the connections on. It's this Siren." The bands around Angels arms shifted, and she screamed. They clicked off her arms and wove around mine. A jolt of energy went through me and I saw everything. I saw text and pictures, information and police data, wanted posters and rewards. It was so much that I fell to the ground in pain. I felt a shock go through my body, and I jerked.

"Great. Now, get up!" My mind lost control and I stood up, unable to tell myself no.

"Alice, what are you doing? Don't do what he says!" Patty's face was worried. I saw emotion take her over for the first time in forever.

 _Anna: For the first time in fore-_

 _Author: No!No!No! And No! No._

"I can't feel. It's all gone. I don't have any control."

"Right again, Honey. Now, kill them all.

"Alice, no!" I fought it best I could, but I felt Jack's machines took over, and I took the knife from my pocket.

"Sorry, Sweety. It's for your own good." Lilith held her hand up, activated her tattoos, and I Phasewalked to the nearest planet.


	5. Chapter 5

5… Jack is Back

 _Everyone: WHAT?_

 _Author: Shaddup!_

 _Angel: Told you he was alive…_

I opened my eyes to Jack screaming. "No! Aurg! I gonna kill those sons a-"

"Language, Jack."

"Shut up, you! You're a puppet! I'm your master! Now, Siren, find a way to get to me. I should be close to you."

"Jack?"

"What?"

"Is Angel really your daughter?"

"Yes."

"She hates you." A high voltage shock coursed in my veins, and I screamed. It went on for almost a minute, and when it stopped, I couldn't feel anything.

"Never say that, ever again."

"Remember, language. There could be little kids around." I said between gasps.

"Get to me, NOW!" I felt another, less forceful shock, and I began to search for him. The bands around my arms kept sending information to my head, as I asked myself questions, and I got a headache very quickly. If it hadn't felt like my head was going to fall off, this would have been the best day of my life. I had all the information I could ask for at my fingertips.

My head pounded, and I finally found what I was looking for. It was a metal door in the side of a mountain. It sild open, and I was dragged inside. I blacked out as soon as I came through the door.

I woke up in a dark room. My marks lit the space around me, and I saw the room was almost empty. I tried to move, but my hands were tied together, and a rope around my waist held them down behind me. My feet were tied to the chair I was in, and I felt a presence in front of me, out of the reach of my light.

"Who's there?"

"Very good. You knew I was here. It's Jack, sweetheart, and you are the most valuable thing Pandora has, now."

"Pandora? What do you mean Pandora?"

"You've been out for three days, Siren."

"Three days! Why am I tied up?"

"So you can't get away. Duh."

"Right. What about the bands?"

"Still on. And that thing around your neck is going to help me find the new key before your friends do. Jimmy, activate the collar." He yelled behind him. The thing around my neck pricked my skin, and I felt needles press into my flesh. Something was being put into me, but I didn't know what.

"What are you doing to me?"

"Eridium, kiddo, Eridium."

"Oh. So, how do you plan to kill me, huh?"

"I need you. If I kill you now, I couldn't get the Key." He pushed a knife into my stomach, which he had pulled from behind his back. I spat out blood. "Heal. Come on, Heal!" He removed the knife, and my flesh slowly wove back together. "Good. I'll leave you to it." He walked out of the room, leaving me alone in the darkness.

 _Later..._

The wound in my stomach had healed, and I stat limp in the chair. The collar kept pushing more Eridium into my veins, and my tattoos had turned dark purple. The ropes around my arms and waist held me upright, and I was surprised that I was still conscious.

I missed my lab. I missed my sister. I missed not being pumped full of an alien substance that could kill me. I missed not being alone in the dark, with nothing around me to be friends with.

Then a young boy walked out of the shadows.

"Kyle! Get away from her!" It was another voice.

"No, Jimmy. Let him go. I want to see what she does." Jack.

The little boy got behind me and played with my fingers. I smiled. I wasn't alone. He picked up my face and stared into my eyes. My stomach twisted. I wanted to hurt him. I pulled away, and he ran his hand down my arm. He was observing me. He wanted to know why I was glowing. He played with my hair, and I was worried I might snap, when he returned to the shadows. Jack took his place.

"Wow. You really know how to control it, don't you? You wanted to kill him. But something else told you no." He poked my chest, and I pulled at the chair. I didn't mind killing him.

"Oh, slow down. You'll have to wait. I want your wings." He put a hand on my back, and I shuddered. Touching, all the touching. He removed his hand from my back, and I relaxed.

"Come on. I know you have them."

"I've never seen them."

"All Sirens have wings."

"My name is Alice."

"Fine, _Alice_. Didn't those mentors of yours teach you anything?"

"Enough to know you're evil."

"Ouch, that was rude…" He snapped, and Jimmy increased the flow to my collar. It hurt.

"Ow. So, what? You're just going to keep charging me like a battery, and I'm going to sit here as your little show?"

"What show?"

"The people watching me? I'm not stupid, and I know you're using me in more ways than one."

"You're very clever, Siren."

"Alice." He made a movement with his hand, and the lights switched on. It took me a minute to get used to the light. Just as I thought, people were lined up behind glass panels, staring at me. My face darkened, and the speed of my breathing became very fast.

"Uh oh, someone doesn't like her situation."

"I have problems with being in the middle, yes."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know. Just use your wings, and it all goes away."

"I don't. Know. How." I could've sworn each pair of eyes had set my flesh on fire. Jack was in my face, which wasn't helping.

"Once you figure it out," I was breathing in what he was breathing out. It made my lungs scream, "you just call me." He removed himself from the room, and I was alone with the eyes. I shut mine to block out their gazes, and used my new bracelets as a coping mechanism. I looked up pictures of kittens, because everybody loves kittens, and did a bit of reading.

 _Later…_

I had passed out from sheer boredom the night before, and the fact that Eridium was being forced into my body by a machine using needles being controlled by a crazy mass murdering psychopath wasn't helping my situation. The room was dark again, but Jack was still detected.

"Hey, Handsome? I know you're there." He removed himself from the shadows with the same movements as the few nights before. They were getting old, but perhaps he wanted me bored, so I acted as perky as the collar would allow. He grabbed my jaw, and stared at my eyes.

"Why did they change color?" I didn't want to talk, but he slapped me across the face, and that didn't bother me, so he put his hands on my shoulders, and hugged me.

"What are you doing?" My body started its normal responses, and I quickly gave in.

"Ok, ok! Let me go! They tell me the future."

"Future? How far?"

"They tell me about the events of the day, no further."

"What does Crimson and Black mean? They were Crimson and Black yesterday."

"Uh, Crimson is tears and Black is suffering."

"Looks like they don't lie."

"No, they don't."

"What about Grey and Hazel?"

"Hazel is my eye color, and grey means nothing special is going to happen that day."

"What color were they when you found your little sister? Ah, the scientist- gone- mad Patricia. You know, I butchered her."

"If you lay a hand on her again, I will kill you!" I pulled against the ropes, and I felt one or two snap.

"Loaders, she's too strong, hold her!" A pair of Loaders grabbed my arms and applied pressure to the back of my neck. For the first time in quite a while, I felt pain for real. I dropped my head and my mouth hung open. He closed it and stood back up.

"Hold her up." The loaders forced me to stand up, and I came face to face with Jack.

"Look, honey," He adjusted the exposure of my collar by two, and I screamed. I had never heard that sound come out of my mouth. It was awful. "i'm going to raise this setting by one every day until you give me your wings. Show them now and I promise you won't suffer thro-" I spit in his face.

"Die in a hole, Jack."

"Fine."

"I can't show my wings, and you know it! When is it going to seep into your foot-thick skull?"

"Oh, I know. But I can't use you until your feet never touch the ground. The Eridium with pull them out soon enough." He walked out into the dark again, leaving me in the grasp of the two Guardian Loaders. I closed my eyes and filed through my connections.

 _Aboard the VH's ship…_

"It's been four days, and we've had no contact with Jack or Alice. What is he doing to her?" Mordy sat in his chair, watching Moxxi pace. This was his favorite thing to do on the ship, other than drink. "If she has all the connections, then I think I could hack into one of her streams, but it'll take a minute. Mordy sighed as Moxxi stopped pacing and stood in front of the control console. Mordys eyes lingered on her for a bit.

"You really need to stop looking at me like that. I'm not your bottle of booze, Mordecai. You failed me. Jack failed me. Every man, and woman for that matter, i've ever dated failed, so give it up. You staring at my butt all day isn't going to help anyone."

"I wasn't looking at your butt."

"Of course you weren't." Moxxi moved a few things around on the console, hit a few buttons, and began to hack the passwords to the Hyperion connections. Angel took a spot next to her.

"Uh, the password is… maybe I should just say it." She lit her marks and let her wings appear. "Angel. Password: Father loves me." Moxxi watched as the computer scanned her and unlocked the access channel.

"Perks of being an artificial intelligence." Moxxi thanked Angel and searched through the data bases.

"Uh, guys? We got a problem. Jack plans to charge Alice, and open some sort of map." Most of the group cursed, but Angel and Lilith moved to the back of the rocket.

"If he's charging Alice for a map, then we have to make sure he doesn't get the right one. We'll have to find a way to hack Alice."

Angel nodded. "I know a way, but it's dangerous, and probably going to require death."

"Sounds like a party."

"I got it!"Moxxi pulled up the image of Alice, and she sighed. "Guys, am I glad to see you. Jack's been…"

"We know." Lilith and Angel spoke in unison, and Alice listened intently to the women explained their plan.


	6. Chapter 6

6...Search and Rescue

"Hello? Hello! Wake up!" I shook my head and looked up at Jack. He turned the dial on my collar. I winced. It didn't hurt as much. He was trying to keep me alive, at least. He pulled the knife again, and the Loaders held me while I tried to pull away.

The knife drew blood, but I managed to make it out of the way with just a cut going along my right side. It healed quickly, and he tried again. After a few tries he made the loaders grab my hips so I couldn't move, and they applied pressure. I could feel their robot parts with my hips. It hurt because they were putting pressure where the holes in my ilium, or hip bone, would be, and it was like being pushed between a wrench head and a wall.

He pushed the knife into my stomach again, and it increased the pain. I spat out the blood that had filled my mouth, and tried my hardest not to give him the satisfaction of me screaming. He twisted the knife, and I made a few refusal noises.

"Come on. I wanna hear you hurt."

"You don't deserve to." He twisted the knife some more, and I made a few louder noises, but most were just groans or 'ow's. He pulled the knife, and I healed. I didn't dare breathe a sigh of relief because he was just as ready to plunge the knife back into me again as I was to make him explode.

Instead he raised the dial of the collar and stabbed me rather than push in. I felt the sting all over my body, but wasn't going to make him happy. The knife slit my skin. I had more than 20 one the front of my body, and my back was worse, but everyone healed within two minutes. He kept raising my exposure and then stabbing me until it was too much and I screamed. He smiled and raised my collar up by one more.

"Wow. Impressive. you were raised by five before you even acknowledged the wounds. And it took almost 10 to get you to scream."

"I have the pain tolerance of a sedimentary rock. Hit me enough, and I'll break, but one or two blows is nothing. I've stabbed myself worse in my own lab."

"I'm surprised you lasted this long. You Tannis people sure can take a hit. Unless it's a romantic hitting- on- you type of hit. Then you both suck."

"Shut up."

"No."

"I hate you. You can beat me, stab me, show me off, kill me if you want, but you've proved nothing with this except that you're a bad person. Would the good guy keep people locked up because they were different? Would he hurt them because he'd been hurt, so everyone had to feel the same? Think about it hard Jack. You're the bully who picks on the little kids. You're the one who killed tina's parents and your daughter and soon, I might be added to the list if you don't stop and think. Do I look like an evil person who needs to die? Which one of us has murder countless people that could have been saved?"

"I did... Let her go. She will be the new Handsome Jack. She will cleanse the planet… whether she likes it or not." Jack used his knife to push we to a wall, and then he began to cut me again. He pushed a microchip into my flesh, and the wound sealed around it. My mouth hung open and my breathing matched his. The collar began to go up every time I took a breath, and it pushed the liquid deeper into me.

"Come on! This has to work! You can't be the only Siren without wings!"

"I can't make myself something i'm not, Jack. But I can help you." I put my hands on his head, and I used my mark. I accessed my memories and played them like a slide show for Jack. His face was sad, and I saw something in his eyes that I never thought i'd see, sanity and humanity.

He removed the collar, and I fell to the ground in a heap. Just like at Tina's, I didn't move and I didn't speak. I stared into nothing. My coat was red, and my hair was dried red as well. Jack helped me up, and I fell against him. I looked up into his face, and leaned against the wall. He understood now. My pain had shown him that not everyone has to be evil because others were evil to them. I changed him.

"Thank you." I looked at him. "I realized that I don't have a bad life, and I didn't have it hard. I was in the middle."

I spit up a bit more blood. "Believe me, Jack. We're both in the middle. I've seen way worse than me. Have you ever heard Lilith's story? Or Brick's? What about Moxxi? Her story is much worse than mine."

"Here let me help." He took a cloth from his pocket and wiped my mouth. "You should go to sleep. You haven't slept more than an hour for six days." He helped me out of the exhibit and into a bedroom.

"You can sleep here. I'll be sure you're safe. If your friends call, i'll send them straight to you. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Jack. Remember, good people don't always come from a luxury, but each one works to help others not themselves, and tonight, by doing this, you proved that you do feel, and you are a good man." He smiled at me and exited the room. I fell asleep not long after. The faint purple glow of my tattoos snuggled me while I slept.

 _The next day…_

The sun woke me up in the morning. Pandorian days, long and sunny. Jack had posted a man outside my door, and he greeted me. I smiled as much as I could, and found that he had been informed of my 'condition'. He was a scientist for Hyperion and we talked.

He was intrigued by my self experimentation, and it was genuine, unlike the visitors I got back home. We learned each others names, and got to know each other a bit more. He was a animal experimentation expert, and he showed me the best way to remove the parts of an animal. I may have smiled a bit too much during the show, but he didn't mind. I showed him how I worked, and he winced once or twice, but I didn't flinch. I showed him how I took apart an animal, and how I experimented on myself.

"Maybe it isn't a good idea to be doing this on yourself when you were just pumped full of over 300 gallons of Eridium."

"Hm… I'll be alright."

"I really highly advise stopping."

"Fine." I removed the needle from my arm, and put it back on the table.

"Alice?"

"Hm?"

"Are you… uh… single?"

"Maybe? My relationships are a bit, um… strange at the moment. Sorry."

"No, no, its ok. I just… I think I like you."

"Me too."

"Really?"

"I couldn't say it if it wasn't. I would probably die." We laughed. Jack walked into the lab and saw me sitting on the gurdy, and he freaked.

"Dustan, what the heck are you doing! Leave her alone!"

"Jack its ok! I was testing, not him."

"Oh. Could you come with me, please?"

"Ok, Jack." I waved to Dustan before leaving the room, and he took me to his office. I looked out into the room below the window. It was Control Core Angel. Jack pulled up a screen and shifted it over the window. The rocket's main area appeared, but no one was there.

"Oh, crap. Jack, I need to do something."

"Go for it." I ran back to the room I had slept in and pushed the door open. I sat on the bed and opened the access channel. I heard my friends voices. "Abort immediately! Guys i'm fine! I got out! Don't blow up the Control Core!"

"Alice? Abort? But…"

"Abort the rescue. It'll be ok. I'll be out later today, I promise."

"Ok, but if anything goes wrong, were starting plan AAP."

"Ok." I breathed in relief as the com went quiet and I felt safer. I returned to Jack.

"Ok, we're good now. They won't attack unless I call. We established it while I was still prisoner." I looked at him. "Jack, will you join me while we search Dionysus?"

He searched me for sarcasm, but he came up with nothing. "Seriously? Alice, after all this? But i'm the bad guy."

"No, you've just been hurt, like me. Please, I need someone who knows what it's like, yet is still sane. I'm nowhere near sane, but I still feel. I miss being normal, but I can't change my past. I don't want sympathy."

Jack put his hand on my shoulder. "I think you're sane."

I laughed. "You don't know me, then."

Jack sighed. "Guess not."

I took his hand and began to drag him out of the office. "Where are we going?" I didn't answer. I dragged him down the hallway until we met the door. "Open it." He had changed his mind slightly. I saw it in his eyes.

I sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. I… *sigh*... I just…." Jack heard my voice and grabbed my hand.

"It's alright. Just stay here." He pulled a card from his back pocket. "Let's get you back to your friends." He opened the door, and I waited for him. He returned a few minutes later and walked me out of the bunker. He and I talked while he walked me past the atom- splitting wall. A buzzard landed, and Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, and Angel stepped out. Lilith marched up to Jack and placed her hand around his neck. Instinctively, as if he was my brother, I shocked her and pushed her off. She looked at me in surprize, but I was straight- faced. She looked at Jack, then back at me. "Wait, did you just protect him?"

"Yes." I said it as bleak as possible, and she just shook her head and walked away.

Angel stood in front of her father, and hugged him. He looked down at her in surprize. She looked up at him, and her tears ran down her face. "I'm sorry. I love you." He looked up.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have locked you up. I love you Angel, baby."

"I love you."

"I love you more." Angel and her father split, and I convinced the Older Vault Hunters to let him become part of my team.


	7. Chapter 7

7… The Shortest Chapter Ever

The New Vault awaited. Angel the AI, Alice the Unstable Siren, Jack the Former Psychopath, and Janey, the Heart and Soul. This could turn out quite interesting…

 **The End**


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